Dreamer
by Genkaku-chan
Summary: Green Rider fic. Dreams can show your greatest fears, or your most desperate wishes, the trick is knowing which is which


Disclaimer: Alas, life is cruel, and I'm still typing on the same old (and I stress the _old_) computer. Must be a sign. I do not now, nor never will own anything.  
  
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She hoped it was all a dream. Pleaded to whatever higher power might be listening that she would be on best behavior if only some small, fuzzy animal would come by with a sign reading, "Don't worry. Dream." Because if all this was real, it was either her worst nightmare or wildest fantasy come true, and the scariest part was, she wasn't sure of the difference.  
  
Karigan stood alone in a mass of unfamiliar people, all dancing, chatting and generally enjoying themselves at the ball. Even she wore a dress, a rare commodity as her time spent in the Rider service increased. The peculiar thing was that the dress was a midnight blue instead of the usual forest green, confusing her to no end as over the past years her wardrobe had been so infected with the color that she donned in even in her subconscious. This dream was unlike any other though; it held a twinge, a taste in the air of reality that all other dreams lacked.  
  
It also held _him_, the reason for her state of distress and pleading. He stood regally upon the dais, an ominous smirk twitching his mouth as an indiscernible look overcame his eyes. She was eerily reminded of another ball she had attended, though that one had held a few recognizable faces, here she was virtual alone, isolated with him as her only company.  
  
It felt like they had locked gazes for an eternity by the time he descended. People moved out of his way as if under a compulsion, showing no outward sign they were even aware of his passing. Still, they moved for him, allowing the tableau to continue.  
  
He stopped barely a step from her, their bodies nearly touching as she recovered from her shock long enough to breathe out his name, "Shawdell."  
  
His lips twitched to a true smile for a mere second before resettling into their usual smirk. "Karigan," he whispered back, "what a pleasant surprise."  
  
She blinked once before her temper overwhelmed her, "'Surprise' my ass!" She shouted, "You brought me here and I know it."  
  
He lifted one hand from where it lay clenched at her side and began leading her in a dance, "Actually, this is all your dream, I just invited myself in and played around a bit." He eyed her blue-nearly-black dress in satisfaction, "Much better if I do say so myself. There's something so," he sneered, managing to stay handsome despite the offensive gesture, "distasteful about the color green."  
  
She had been right, the dress wasn't her choice. "How are you doing all this? The setting, the dress, the people," she took her hand from where it had slipped up to his shoulder to gesture widely about the room, "for goodness sakes, I yelled loud enough to wake the dead and not one of them so much as batted an eyelash! It's like we don't exist!"  
  
"We don't," came the easy answer, "we're ghosts to them, existing only as much to them here as they do to you in your reality." And with that they were suddenly alone in the room, still dancing to beauteous music coming from instruments that played themselves.  
  
"How are you doing this?"  
  
"I'm controlling your dream through our connection," his thumb rubbed a circle where once an insidious ball of dark magic had lain.  
  
"You're controlling me!" She gasped in shock, taking a step back.  
  
"No! Not you, just the dream. I would never try to control you Karigan." He caressed her name as it fell from his lips, nearly begging for her acceptance. He stepped toward her again, closer this time so that when they began to dance again, they were forced to do so with her arms around his shoulders, and his around her waist.  
  
Her mind screamed out for her to push away from the intimate position, but something inside her drowned it out, whatever it was, was barely satiated with their current closeness, and demanding more. She'd been dancing in his arms for some time, content as a cat lying in the afternoon sun, before the rest of what he said filtered through.  
  
"What do you mean our connection? The magic you left in my arm was removed at the wall, there's nothing left there to control."  
  
"Yes the magic is gone, but it was only an attempt to strengthen our preexisting bond. We were bound, you and I, from the first I saw you through that scrying glass. That's what initially intrigued me about you, the fact that my destiny could be bound to some slip of a mortal girl. You proved yourself many times over, and at the moment of my banishment to the In-between, I put the magic in you to keep the connection. A good thing too, as it's what enabled you to travel through time. And as you traveled, you passed through my realm, so that I could build the bond to the point that it didn't need the supportive magic. That's why it left you, it simply wasn't needed anymore."  
  
She stared up at him in awe, now understanding the attraction she had felt to him when she glimpsed him through the Berry sister's telescope. He was right, they were bound to each other, and with that thought some of the guilt she felt faded. It wasn't a betrayal to King or Country to be intrigued by Shawdell; she was connected to him, a part of him just as he was a part of her.  
  
She settled more comfortably into his embrace. Swaying in time with the music, both would have been content to spend eternity just as they were. "Alas, all good things must come to an end." At Karigan's questioning look Shawdell explained, "You're waking up and I can't hold you here any longer, but I shall see you again another night." He kissed her lightly on the lips as she felt herself returning to reality, torn once more between duty and happiness.  
  
She woke to her room at the castle, the other Riders could be heard scrambling around in the hall and someone was banging on her door, telling her to get up. She pushed herself out of bed to stand, stretch, and prepare for another day. This, she decided, would be the balance, the day she would spend fulfilling her duties and obligations to her country, and the night she would spend in happiness with Shawdell. She clutched to his promise of another visit while she left her room, more prepared to start another day.  
  
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A/N: Back again with more anti-cannon pairings. Dreamer is almost a continuation of Guardian, but I think it stands alone well enough, don't you? I dunno, maybe it does, maybe not. I hope it didn't seem to out of character, the relationship progressed rather quickly, maybe a bit to fast, but I hope it's still decent enough.  
  
Unlike Guardian, this is all self-explainable stuff, we even had character names and dialogue, wow. One thing that might not be caught, my reason for choosing blue for Karigan's dress. Remember when they were playing the game of Intrigue, Shawdell's pieces were blue, I felt it would be fitting to add in that bit of possessiveness.  
  
My deepest gratitude to all those who reviewed Guardian, without you all Dreamer (for better or worse) would have never been, so thank you, hope you like this one too. 


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